Ethics and Dreams
by Ninten-Winten
Summary: Ninten thought himself as normal. Completely and totally average. That's until he finds that he has two spirits stuck inside his head. / tell me if the rating needs changing /
1. chapter 1

Hi guys! Sorry for the note but I have a few important things to say (write haha) before the fic starts.

Firstly, this has spoilers for the games, mainly mother 3. If you don't want to be spoiled, turn back while you can and play Mother 3 (or watch a let's play of it, if you don't want to download it.) it's very worth it. I don't think EB or M1 will be too spoiled. If you're fine with spoilers then welcome!

This is an au where Mother and Earthbound never happened. Ness and Ninten are in the same time time and go to the same school. Mother 3, however, took place. So after the game (Mother 3) is done let's say that after the end of the game the dragon resets the world and brings Lucas and Claus to another dimension. This is the dimension that the story is set in; not the games. And thus the story begins.

I'm posting this and Ch1 on the same day, because otherwise I would be annoying. I don't know when I can update but I plan for it to be frequent! Ish.

There are a few reasons which could mean the story isn't the best-

•I am 12. Don't attack me.

•I am English and have no clue what American high school is like. We have desks; we don't have combination lockers ahah.

•I do not have a beta.

Disclaimer:

I don't own the games or the characters. Seriously, do you think Mother 3 would still be JPN only if i did? Hell naw, it's coming to Europe and 'murica in the blink of an eye.

I do own the idea of the main plot and the writing tho~

/the cover is mine too/

This fic might have some sad parts coughmother3cough but is mostly okay

Thanks for reading this note. Have fun with Ch 1!

OFF AND AWAYYYYYY


	2. 1

It could have been such a brilliant day for Ninten. The sun was dusting his cheeks with soft warmth, birds were singing their songs, all singing different melodies that fit together like a jigsaw. A gentle breeze was in the air, making his hair tickle his face. The morning weather was perfect for a picnic and playing baseball in the park. That's the problem. Today is a school day.

Not only is today a Monday, but he has a math exam first period. Ninten was never good at math and hated the very thought of sitting for two hours while the world outside the classroom window taunted him. He still didn't have any clue what he was meant to be studying and gave up at nearly 2:00 am. Saturday and Sunday had gone by without more than an hour without rain.

"Hey! Ninten! Yo, wait up!" A voice yelled from behind him. Ninten recognised it as Ness, his best friend. Ness was much like Ninten, positive and laid back. At first, in first grade, they hadn't been friends; it was more like they hated each other. Ninten thought that Ness kept 'copying his style' and Ness accused him of the same. When they warmed up to each other they quickly grew close.

"Hi." Ninten replied flatly. He inwardly cringed at how disinterested he appeared, quickly adding, "What's up?"

"Ah, not much" His friend replied with a dismissive wave of his hand. "What about you?"

"I didn't study for math." Ninten gave a grin, silently asking Ness for help. Ness snorted and began walking again, dragging Ninten by the wrist.

"At least show up on time!" Ness teased. "Do you want to get a 0 or a 10?"

"Hey!" Ninten raised a hand to his chest in mock offence. "We both know that not everyone can be good at math! We're prime examples!"

"I'm good at math." Ness protested. "Kinda."

"Just because Jeff helps you." Ninten snickered. Ness had pretended not to hear. Ninten knew he had by the way that Ness dug his fingernails into his wrist and walked faster.

After a short while of power-walking and the duo's friendly teasing they stood I front of the large, marble school building. The tall towers made it resemble a castle. Sitting in the middle of the plaza was a fountain that was sparkling and pure- surely it had to be magic- with enough room for twelve people to comfortably sit and eat their lunch there. For a place of absolute hell, it looked stunning and memorable. Ninten blamed it on the immaculate weather.

As they began to ascend the stairs, the bell rang; and Ninten groaned. He was one step closer to failing that math exam. Ness just laughed.

"Just come on, you idiot." Ness let go of Ninten's wrist and continued towards the building. "If we hurry I might just be able to help you get at least one question right."

Ninten glared at him. "I don't need your pity. I'll think of something." Ness snorted.

"Sure Ninten, sure." He grinned, rolling his eyes and started to walk down the corridor. Ninten scoffed, following him. It was silent until Ness spoke up.

"Ninten?" Ness asked. Ninten hummed in reply, fiddling with his locker and taking out his books. "Good luck, even if it's hopeless."

"Thanks for your consideration. It's appreciated." Ninten closed his locker and turned to Ness. "Let's just get this over with."

The walk to the classroom was too short and in nearly no time at all they were seated at their desks with the papers being passed around the room. The teacher began explaining the exam conditions; check your answers after and all of that rubbish that Ninten already knew. "It would be much more helpful," he thought, "If you gave me answers for what I really need to know but don't"

"Now!" The teacher declared. "No cheating and good luck." One last glance around the room. "You may now begin."

As one, the students flipped open the first page. Ninten studied the first question and sighed. And began to work out the questions. It was probably a bad thing that he was stumped by the end of the page, when there were five after it.

He looked up at the clock. It read 9:28 am. Ninten realised with dismay that he had spent a quarter of his time on the first page. Faintly he heard someone talking in the room, though the teacher hadn't seemed to hear.

"That's stupid. You're terrible at this." The voice said in an almost monotone voice. Ninten didn't recognise it, and he had no clue where it came from. He tried to listen more closely, curiosity making this seem more important than a test worth half his grade.

"Shut up Claus." Another smaller,more timid voice replied. "Please." The voice added politely.

"Ugh. But Lucas, look, he's doing it wrong and it's painful to watch." The first person, Claus, groaned. Were they talking about him? Ninten tried to concentrate on the test before giving up and continuing to listen to the voices.

"You're not helping, Claus." Lucas said. "Not everyone can do math. You were terrible at math, you know."

"Not anymore." Claus muttered and the two dropped into silence. Ninten realised that the teacher hadn't heard any of this, despite the two boys being clear enough for Ninten to hear without struggle.

"Hey," Claus stated after a short while. "Maybe I can just... tell him the answers."

"Don't be stupid Claus!" Lucas sounded like he was trying not to laugh. "It's not like he can hear you!"

"Well I certainly can." Ninten thought bitterly. The two were quiet once more.

"You can?" Ninten nearly choked. The two were talking about him. How did the two hear his thoughts? How could they see his paper?

It was at this point that Ninten realised that the teacher hadn't heard anything, followed by the fact that he couldn't hear any voices- he just knew what they sounded like and what they were saying. The final, crazy conclusion is that Ninten has gone cuckoo and is imagining people in his head.

Until now, Ninten thought himself to be a very normal guy. He got on with most people, avoiding those he dislikes. He was average at most things and had no special skills, just a knack for baseball. He was pretty sure he would be better than Ness if it wasn't for his asthma. He had never known that two boys had been in his head. He had never even thought about anything of the sort. Was it the test that drove him insane?

"He can?" The smaller voice repeated with the same confused tone used by Claus. Ninten understood, he was startled too. "But- I don't understand!"

"Wait. Who are you and how are you, uh, in my brain?" Ninten glanced back to his paper.

"We, me and Claus, are kind of like..." Lucas began. It seemed like he was unsure of what to say. "Think of us as your conscience."

"Excuse me, what?" Ninten scrunched up his nose. He still had no clue what was going on. "You guys are... my conscience...?"

"I guess?" Ninten could hear the shrug in Claus' voice. "I mean, we follow you. We're quite similar to - no actually, exactly like- that thing you see in cartoons, with the little angel and devil on your shoulders. Y'know, the ones that help you make decisions."

"Is it just me that has people stuck in their head?" Ninten thought before realising that it might come off as rude. "You guys are great, but are there more of you?"

"There might be. I have no clue, and neither does Claus. I don't think so.

Ninten nodded. "Okay... just asking, but why show up now, during a math test, instead of... when I'm making a decision?"

"Because you're doing all these questions wrong-" Claus stated. "And we have 45 minutes to complete this test."

With a start, Ninten glanced at the clock. Claus was correct. "I'm screwed." Ninten stated.

"No, we can do this. Well, I can. I'm gonna do it." He didn't wait for agree. "We're starting over, go back to the start." Ninten turned back to the first page and reluctantly erased the answers. "Get ready to pass."

Before Ninten knew it Claus was giving him numbers. He quickly scribbled down what Claus said. It took the spirit less than five minutes to get through the page. Soon enough, the paper was filled with answers in every box. Occasionally, Claus would pause and ask Lucas if he knew with varying results. Soon only the last question was left. Ninten had no clue what to do and, to his surprise, neither did Claus.

"Uh, hold on." Claus said. "If three... divide it? I uh... add negative three?" he sighed. "Twenty... thirty... add the decimal... and then the..." he went quiet for a second. "I- I think it's 48.7? Is that right? No wait, 48.6. Go with that. I think?"

Hastily, Ninten scribbled down the answer. One look at the clock told him they had two minutes left. The three looked through the answers, to distract them- mainly Claus- from the question.

"Pencils down." The teacher's voice rang throughout the room and sighs of relief and worry could be heard with the knocking of wood on wood. Ninten was no different, practically throwing the pencil to his desk.

Once the papers were collected in, Ness was up and making a beeline towards Ninten's desk.

"How did you do?" He exclaimed.

Ninten grinned. "I did fine." He took in the surprise that Ness was trying to hide and nearly laughed. "You?"

Ness seemed to shudder. "That last question wasn't even taught in class!"

"You can say that again." Ninten stated. "Let's go eat! I'm starving!" Ness laughed. The two went to the cafeteria and Ninten sat at a table while Ness went to get lunch. Halfway through his first jam sandwich, Ness sat down with him.

"How did you even survive the exam? I would have been too stressed to write anything!" Lies from Ness- he would probably get them all wrong, sure, but he would be confident in whatever he put.

"I had help." Ninten stated, feeling the proud glow that Lucas and Claus gave off wordlessly.

"You're welcome!" Ness chirped. Ninten decided he didn't want to be called crazy, and nodded.

"Thanks Lucas, Claus." He whispered under his breath as Ness was talking about a hamburger he got for free on Saturday.

"Anytime!" Was his conscience's reply.


End file.
